Dorothy Sadler, an 80-year-old from Birch River, ran her 10th Manitoba Marathon half marathon yesterday but she was not alone.

Along with 80 friends in attendance, 14 members of her family took part in various aspects of the event and wore Inspired by Dorothy T-shirts

"It's wonderful," said Sadler. "I started when I was 69 and missed two years. I love it. I get that extra spurt crossing the finish line. I wish I had it all the way along.

"I think I'm going to retire from the half marathon. Maybe I'll run the relay or the 10km."

One of Sadler's family members is son-in-law Kim Davis, the commissioner of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, who ran in his first half marathon since 1989.

"I've run but never in races," said Davis. "I always figured I'd do it again. (Sadler) encouraged us to do it this year, so as many of us as possible tried to get involved. I remember in 1989 when I did it, I felt awful. But I feel pretty good."

MARATHON SEX: Christa Buccini got more looks than most participants in yesterday's run.

What do you expect when you're wearing a veil?

Buccini, a phys-ed teacher at Lavallee School who's getting married July 21, completed the full marathon, while three of her bridesmaids, also wearing veils, ran the relay.

"I had so many people ask if I got married today," Buccini said. "One lady said, 'I hope you didn't get married yesterday, because today you should be having great sex.' "

Buccini's bridesmaids actually broke out the unusual accessories as a surprise yesterday morning. The groom rode the course on a bicycle.

BEER, ANYONE? Lorie Ilchyna was having a rough morning in the half-marathon, as her knee gave out around Mile 5.

"So I enjoyed one of the halfway beers," she said.

That's right, a man living along Kingston Crescent was handing out suds to any runner who needed a cold one.

"He's out there every year," an appreciative Ilchyna said. "Give him the first star."

Apparently, beer -- not to mention a bum knee -- does slow you down, as Ilchyna finished in two hours, 55 minutes, well off her goal of 2:10.

THAT'S 29, AND COUNTING: Winnipeg's Len Rolfson kept his streak alive, and is the only person to run all 29 Manitoba Marathons.

This time, though, his son, Scott, wasn't setting the pace next to him. Seems the old man has a touch more stamina than the kid.

"I'm getting too old for this," said Scott, who's 28.

His 59-year-old dad has another take.

"He's just too young," Rolfson said.

BOSTON BOUND: Kevin Donnelly of True North Sports and Entertainment, the man who books all those great concerts at the MTS Centre, reached his goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon with a time of three hours, 30 minutes.

Donnelly, who'll be 45 next spring, has run that time before, but Boston's qualifying times are based on age brackets.

In other words, now he's fast enough and old enough.

"The goal was to get older faster than I get slower," Donnelly explained.